Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Finally got around to see Tangled, bought it on Blu-Ray. I absolutely LOVED it. I definitely miss the old Disney hand drawn style, but this was their first movie that had that feel of those, and that cartoony look, just done in computer generated style too. I think it worked. I loved the Broadway feel to it, I hope they make a musical out of it. I loved the story too. Just a really great movie. So much like all the things I watch that I love, I did a drawing of Rapunzel! Hope you like it!

I also included a pin-up I got in I think EW, that is a time line of EVER Disney carton. Perfect for a record of all their films, and great reference of them and when they came out.

If you haven't seen it yet, rent, or better yet, BUY Tangled.

Until next time,

CjB

PS- Happy 4th Birthday, Finley! Hope it was a good one, and have fun in Disney World!

Friday, April 1, 2011

Last night I was working on my Concept Art portfolio, coming up with new characters and costumes and the like, when I took a five minute break to look at some reference and to get some inspiration. What I read, I just HAD to share today. This one artist put into words my WHOLE philosophy of comic art and design.

I do a lot of photo realistic work for freelance and for different clients, but for my comic work and now video game experimentation, it's hard to explain my "style". Probably since college, I have been trying to put my philosophy into words. SO many times I would get critiqued, and not that I didn't appreciate it, but a lot of times, the reviewer just didn't understand my style, my exaggerations and my reasoning behind a lot of my art. I got a lot of, "oh, an arm wouldn't do that in real life", or "draw more 'realistic' comic book heroes". I finally found an artist that explains EVERYTHING I truly aspire to. He did it for me, and I have to THANK him for that.

The artist is Skottie Young, and this quote came from his OZ PRIMER book published by Marvel Comics. Please read this, and know that I am forever in his debt for putting into words what I could not. Much like Skottie, I am not saying this is how everyone should treat their art, but this is exactly what I do, and why my art is what it is.

Questionnaire:Do you think your style lends itself to the kind of evolution it has gone through, more so then it would for a more "realistic" artist?

Skottie Young:Well, I can't really compare because I've never been able to draw in that other way. I'm not a representational artist. I consider myself a cartoonist. Rather then drawwhat the world looks like, I prefer to draw want I want this other world to look like. The good news about that is it gives me a big playground to work in. I can stretch the mouth to look like an inner tube, or just make it a little line. SO in a way, it's not whether or not it's easier to evolve, it's just whether or not I can push a little further.

When I was younger, I heard the term "too cartoony" thrown around a lot. It made me nervous that I needed to tighten up and refine my work. The times I tried that I felt very limited. I mean, my hat's off to the guys that can do that. I'm not trying to say what I do is better. It's just that this is what I'm capable of doing. When I've tried to draw more realistically, it wasn't fun. Instead of imagining things, I felt I was trying to mimic things.

So within the frame work of what I do, it's about challenging myself to see what else I am capable of. And there are a lot of failures that people don't see. By no means does every new thing I try come out great.

Thank you Skottie Young, I could not have said it better myself. You were a HUGE inspiration to me before I read this article about you, but now, even more so.